(Utimovid ^etfeiceif 



IN HONOR OF 



Rs. Mary Hemenway 



BY THE 



Boston Public School Teachef^s 



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in 2010 with funding from 
The Library of- Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/memorialservices01dunt 



0?emorial ^er^ice^ 



IN HONOR OF 



MRS. MARY HEMENWAY 



BY THE 






BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOL 

3' 




EDITED 

LARKIN DUNTON 

HEAD MASTER OF THE BOSTON NORMAL SCHOOL 



BOSTON 

Geo. H. Ellis, Printer, 141 Franklin Street 

1894 



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. Hs-jJs 



JA 12 »9G?. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Memorial services in honor of Mrs. Mary Hemen- 
way were held in the Old South Meeting-House 
Wednesday afternoon, May 2, 1894, by the teachers 
of the public schools of Boston. These services 
were the result of a spontaneous desire on the part 
of the teachers to give expression to the love and 
esteem which they bore for her while living, 

Mrs. Hemenway was born in the city of New 
York, Dec. 20, 1820, and died at her home in Bos- 
ton, March 6, 1894. She was the daughter of 
Thomas Tileston, from whom she seems to have 
inherited her remarkable business ability. She 
married Mr. Augustus Hemenway, a great shipping 
merchant. Several years before his death his health 
had so failed as to throw much of the oversight of 
his immense business upon Mrs. Hemenway. By 
this means was developed that remarkable talent for 
the directing of affairs which subsequently proved 



4 Introduction 

so useful in carrying on her great benevolent enter- 
prises. She certainly possessed business ability of 
a high order. 

Her insight into the causes of suffering among 
the people, far and near, present and future, and 
into the remedies for this suffering, was wonder- 
ful. Her breadth of view was only equalled by the 
warmth of her heart. It was the generosity of her 
nature that so endeared her to the teachers of Bos- 
ton. They came to know her as a fellow-worker for 
the good of the people. Pride, haughtiness, and con- 
descension, which too often accompany the posses- 
sion and even the distribution of wealth, were so 
conspicuously wanting in her nature that every 
teacher who was brought into contact with her in 
her benevolent work felt only the presence of a 
great heart beating in sympathy with all mankind. 

Her beneficent plans were never set on foot, and 
then left to the management of others. She not 
only followed her work with her thought and her 
kindly interest, but she stimulated and cheered her 
coworkers with her inspiring personality. It was 
her clear head, her warm heart, and her cheerful 
presence that gained for her admiration and affec- 



Introduction 5 

tion. In a word, it was her noble nature that so 
won the Boston teachers as to call them together 
to speak and hear the words recorded in the follow- 
ing pages. 

The order of exercises will be found in full on the 
following page. 

The Editor. 



ORDER OF EXERCISES. 



Chant, The Lord's Prayer. 

Introductory Remarks by the Chairman, Edwin P. 
Seaver, Superintendent of Public Schools. 

Reading of Resolutions by Robert Swan, Master, 
Winthrop School. 

Address by Henry C. Hardon, Master, Shurtleff School. 

Address by Granville Putnam, Master, Franklin School. 

Address by Edwin P. Seaver. 

Singing, "America," Director, Henry G. Carey. 

Address by James A. Page, Master, Dwight School. 

Address by Dr. Larkin Dunton, Head Master, Boston 
Normal School. 

Address by John O. Norris, Head Master, Charlestown 
High School. 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

By the Chairman 



Fellow-teachers : 

We have called ourselves together to-day, not 
merely to express a sense of personal bereavement, 
nor yet merely to lament the public loss consequent 
upon the ending of a life of singular devotion and 
helpfulness, but chiefly, with hearts full of gratitude 
that such a life has been lived among us and that 
we have been permitted to have some share in 
executing its beneficent purposes, to commemorate 
those deeds of wise charity which have come more 
immediately under our personal observation. 

It would seem to have been a settled principle 
with Mrs. Hemenway that the wisest charity is that 
which prevents misery rather than waits to alleviate 
it, which purifies the sources of domestic and civic 
life rather than seeks, too late, to clear it of accu- 



10 Memorial Service 

mulated ills. Hence was her charity applied largely 
in the domain of education. She rested her hopes 
for the future domestic and civic well-being of the 
people on the children. These — and particularly 
the less favored ones — should receive generous and 
wholesome training for their coming duties in family 
and in State. 

If existing educational agencies were inadequate 
or imperfect, her aid was ever ready for the work of 
enlargement and improvement. Believing that the 
ordinary conditions of school work were physically 
injurious to children, she introduced into our city, 
and through a practical demonstration of its benefits 
persuaded the school authorities to adopt, a sys- 
tem of physical training which will do much — nay, 
which has already done much — to give the next 
generation stronger and healthier bodies. Seeing 
that the arts which promote thrift, comfort, and hap- 
piness in the home were falling into neglect among 
the people, she sought, through the introduction of 
sewing and cooking as matters of instruction in the 
public schools, to promote more sensible views on 
the importance of domestic education. Realizing 
the vital necessity of a pure, ardent, and intelligent 



Mrs. Mary Hememvay 1 1 

patriotism in the hearts of all the people, she insti- 
tuted within these historic walls — hallowed by sa- 
cred associations of religion and freedom — courses 
of instruction for young people in history and civil 
polity which have done and are doing much to 
awaken and cherish the best patriotic sentiment. 
In these and in many other ways has she aided the 
teachers in the great work of public instruction. 
Even where her beneficence appeared to assume a 
more personal relation, — as when she aided the 
Teachers' Benefit Association or when she helped 
many a weary teacher to get needed rest and recu- 
peration, — her warm sympathy with the workers 
was the outflowing of her deep interest in their work. 

So it is altogether fitting that we, the teachers 
of the public schools of Boston, should place upon 
record an expression of our appreciation of Mrs. 
Hemenway's educational work. 

And let it be said at the outset that the crowning 
excellence of that work is not found in the large 
gifts of money, useful as these have been, nor in 
the support accorded to new enterprises and experi- 
ments in education when these had not yet estab- 
lished their claims to public support; but it is found 



12 Memorial Service 

in her most generous giving of herself to every 
beneficent scheme she undertook, — her untiring 
sympathy and care, her wise, far-seeing counsel, and 
her frequent inspiring personal presence. It may 
be remembered now, as a significant instance of this, 
that her very last appearance in public was in this 
meeting-house with the young people celebrating 
the birthday of Washington. Nothing less strong 
than the Life Destroyer himself could overcome her 
interested activity in these things. 

Thus in briefest outline have I mentioned the 
matters for commemoration. It remains for me to 
call upon representative teachers, who will speak 
more in detail on each particular. 



RESOLUTIONS 

PRESENTED BY 

ROBERT SWAN 

(Master of the IVinthrop School 



Resolutions presented by Robert Swan 



On account of my long association with Mrs. 
Hemenway in her efforts to give the girls in the 
Boston public schools useful instruction, it has been 
assigned to me to prepare resolutions of respect for 
her memory. 

The following are submitted for your considera- 
tion : — 

Whereas, it is fitting, at the close of Mrs. Mary Hemen- 
way's useful life, that the Boston public school teachers, 
assembled in the Old South Meeting-house, which she loved 
so well and did so much to save, should place on record their 
profound appreciation of the noble work she has accomplished 
for the practical education of the children under their care, by 
which the pupils, and through them the homes from which 
many of them come, have been elevated both mentally and 
morally, — therefore be it 

Resolved^ That through her wise foresight and long per- 
severance in the introduction of a systematic training in sew- 
ing, by which girls in the public schools are made proficient in 



1 6 Memorial Service 

needlework, the first step toward manual training, now ac- 
knowledged by all to be an essential part of our school pro- 
gramme, she exhibited an almost intuitive sense of the needs 
of the community, and enabled the children to relieve their 
mothers of many weary hours of labor. 

Resolved^ That by the introduction of the Kitchen Garden, 
and, later, the School Kitchen, — a long step in progress, — she 
accomplished, by this wise provision of her studious care, an 
inestimable benefit to the city, children being thus taught not 
only to cook intelligently and economically, but also to buy 
understanding^, the various articles required, by which the 
manner of living has been changed, healthful food and proper 
service displacing uncomfortable and unhealthful methods. 

Resolved, That by the introduction of the Ling System of 
Gymnastics, in which Mrs. Hemenway's liberality and care for 
the physical development of the children were the principal 
factors, the city is greatly indebted for another advance in 
education. 

Resolved, That by the establishment of the " Normal School 
of Cooking " and the " Boston Normal School of Gymnastics," 
furnishing qualified teachers to inaugurate the work in other 
cities, by which the full advantage of Boston's experience is 
reaped, her beneficial influence has made instruction in these 
branches national instead of local. 

Resolved, That by her contribution in money and intelligent 
helpfulness in promoting the Boston Teachers' Mutual Benefit 
Association in the days of its inception, much was done to in- 
sure the success of the enterprise. 



Mrs. Mary Hemenway 17 

Resolved, That by the purchase of Dr. John D. Philbrick's 
library, and its presentation to the Boston Normal School, she 
has made easily accessible to the pupils the choicest works on 
educational subjects, thus making the valuable information 
acquired a part of their equipment for their chosen profession. 

Resolved, That by her prizes for essays on subjects con- 
nected with American History, awarded to graduates of the 
Boston High Schools, on Washington's Birthday, in the Old 
South Meeting-house, she has caused a thorough research 
into our colonial and national life that can result only in in- 
spiring patriotic ardor which must conduce to the best citizen- 
ship. 

Resolved, That, by these and many other acts which cannot 
be enumerated at this time, her name is justly entitled to rank 
with the names of Pratt and Drexel, who have established 
institutes in Brooklyn and Philadelphia that will confer incal- 
culable benefits on the people of this country. 

Resolved, That Mrs. Hemenway, in these varied interests, 
gave what is infinitely more important than money, her con- 
stant sympathy in, and enthusiasm for, the work, — which is an 
invaluable memory to all who were blessed with her assistance. 

Resolved, That, in tendering these resolutions to the family 
of Mrs. Hemenway, we desire to express our deep sympathy 
in their bereavement. 

At the close of the services the foregoing resolu- 
tions were unanimously adopted. 



ADDRESS 



BY 



HENRY C. HARDON 

(Master of the Shurtleff School 



Address by Henry C. Hardon 



It is probable that every one in this audience 
acquainted with the work and character of Mrs. 
Hemenway would be glad to second the resolutions 
offered. 

What a life of benevolent work ! She had wealth, 
and we know some of the ways she chose to use it. 
An excellent understanding and a most sensible edu- 
cation made an outfit for most effective action. The 
results are already far-reaching, and are to add still 
farther to our appreciation of the value of her life. 

Within four years this most worthy lady said to 
me : *'In my youth girls in the best of families were 
accustomed to participate in many of the household 
affairs. Some occasionally assisted in other homes. 
If we were to have evening company, the little col- 
lation was prepared by our own hands." " As for 
myself," she said again, *'I read not many books. 
They were not so numerous as now. I was reared 



22 Memorial Service 

principally on household duties, the Bible, and 
Shakspere." 

What other educational tripod has such breadth 
of base ? Health, increase of physical strength, and 
not a little important directing power are all pro- 
moted by the first ; and only few persons propose to 
better the second as a means of moral and spiritual 
training for this world or any other. The third, 
with its vocabulary of thirteen thousand words, the 
vigor of its dealing with folly and vice, its English 
never excelled, — how all these must have fed the 
growing thought and purpose of this character, one 
of the worthiest of this great city ! Here was edu- 
cation, indeed ! A few subjects, it is true, but well 
chosen and greatly utilized. 

To one thus furnished, whose business in life was 
to be and to do, and to pay no attention to seeming, 
how strange must have appeared the fact of a later 
growing disinclination or inability on the part of so 
many families to minister to the equipment of girls, 
after the fashion of a former time ! This must have 
appeared doubly strange, with an increasing incom- 
ing population of so many from abroad, adding to 
clumsy fingers and unmanaged households. The 



Mrs. Mary Heinenway 23 

end of all that is not yet. The beginning of that 
which, if prosecuted, will make toward an end, is 
under way. It is the reformed educational concep- 
tion — a sort of renaissance of common sense for the 
new conditions — which is to give children in the 
present enormous population of city life as much as 
we can for what they have lost. Mrs. Hemenway 
saw the situation, doubtless, as distinctly as she did 
the truth of the proverbs of the Great Book. She 
had the lasting benevolence to go deep and often to 
her pocket to pay the salaries of well-trained sewing 
teachers, that poor girls might get some of the 
training that many homes were ceasing to furnish. 

We will not forget that this kind of training was 
added to school work by the School Committee 
before this. Nearly four thousand women had peti- 
tioned for it, but the results were small for at least 
ten years. The teachers of sewing were then poorly 
equipped, working without system, and not well sup- 
ported, quite different in the main from what they 
are now. Some of the mothers also — not many, I 
think — thought this new departure a scheme to 
promote caste, and fix the social status of the 
workers. The sewing machine had turned some 



24 Memorial Sendee 

heads. All labor is soon to be done by machinery, 
said they. We will direct or stand by, and see it 
work. But, worse than this, many of the educational 
corps objected : this is not education ; the schools 
were not made for it ; it will cause the loss of time. 
Some of the more thoughtful saw that better 
things could come, and said that they should. They 
knew that work, early in life, had played no small 
part in their own education ; that, according to 
strength, with very ample intermission of course, all 
children are greatly educated and bettered by the 
experience. Whole nations now see it. A good 
knowledge of it may bring a love of it. " The slug- 
gard will not plough by reason of the cold ; there- 
fore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing." Let 
us see that he is taught to plough, says the philoso- 
phy of Mrs. Hemenway, fortified by many a Script- 
ure text ; and the ploughing shall be any human 
labor that answers human needs, and renders beg- 
gary and vice less probable. The thought here and 
in the last of Proverbs is not for a far-off time only. 
The working in flax and wool can and does have its 
corresponding duty ; but the looking well to the 
ways of the household will be a duty never to be 



Mrs. Mary Hemenway 25 

abandoned in any country that is to rear children 
to self-reliance and the truest success. All this 
truth was at the very core of the character of Mrs. 
Hemenway, who knew that it was for all households 
of all generations ; that the family unity is promoted 
by duties performed by children early in life; that a 
sure part of moral education goes with it of neces- 
sity ; that dark days are less dark with and advance 
in training, and that hope for the future has its 
strongest seat in increasing efficiency. But, in the 
household or out, the successful prosecution of any 
department of training requires good teaching. The 
large sums of money paid by Mrs. Hemenway for 
good teaching, with the large result achieved, 
showed what the public school also could do. A 
new start was made. Miss Cummings was ap- 
pointed in the Winthrop School as sewing teacher. 
Things changed. Mr. Swan became a strong advo- 
cate of the work, a second right hand to Mrs. Hem- 
enway, a vigorous apostle for industrial training in 
at least two departments, through whom also the 
facts have gone across the country. Other parts 
of the city took a start. Methods of retaining and 
distributing work, keeping the accounts, and re- 



26 Memorial Service 

porting to the School Committee, originated, I 
think, in South Boston. Opposition died. Converts 
came in from near and far. They took notes, exam- 
ined, asked questions, and went home to imitate 
and surpass us in method if they could. Finished 
articles are now numbered by the thousand, made 
every year in nearly every girls' school. • 

Drafting, cutting, and fitting have been added in 
many schools, and the kinds of work increased. All 
this has been accomplished, from the beginning, in 
forty years ; some of the best of it in twenty. What 
is our just tribute of praise to the author of this pro- 
nounced success ! 

But this is not the end. Too much or too little, 
badly prepared, or wasted in serving, is the record 
of many of the human race as to food. Too little, 
surely, is the testimony of many teachers in this 
audience, according to the repeated observation of 
the past winter. Too little and the wrong kind fit 
no children in vigor for the responsibilities that are 
to come. Bread and tea work up poorly into physi- 
cal size and brain power. Programmes go off badly 
under it. This is a fraction of the answer why chil- 
dren are left behind. '* Name some one thing that 



Mrs. Mary Heinenway 27 

would enable your boys to achieve more and build 
up the school," said one man to another. "A plate 
of good soup and a thick slice of bread after recess," 
was the answer. "I could get twice the work 
before twelve. They want new blood." 

This side seems discouraging. We will look 
further. Enough is spent, many times, when the 
result is poor. Edward Atkinson, the leading 
Benjamin Franklin of our time, has shown that 
repeatedly. We all know it, and want it remedied. 
Mrs. Hemenway knew it. She knew that one cause 
was ignorance; that judicious buying and better 
cooking would have very important effects, — more 
vigorous children, less sickness, less drinking, — 
plainly, more family success. To see was to do. 

She caused the school kitchen, called *' No. i," to 
be established. It was planned and equipped by 
that admirable lady and remarkable executive officer, 
Miss Amy Morris Romans, another of the right 
hands of Mrs. Hemenway. This kitchen has been 
extensively copied over the country. What has al- 
ready been the result in Boston alone } Six or 
seven thousand girls have had either a half or a full 
year's course in cooking. The knowledge of the 



28 Memorial Service 

preparation of plain food has been thoroughly pre- 
sented, thousands of dishes cooked at those schools, 
a far greater number at home. What to buy with 
scant money is now also a part of the much needed 
and received instruction. 

Without the knowledge that these girls have 
gained, the past year might have been still more 
severe. The good work goes on. The School Com- 
mittee, a body thanked little, but worked hard, try- 
ing to make the money at their disposal result in 
the completest service, is, like the community, I 
think, a convert to the industrial side of education. 
The immense labor of some of them to this end 
would show it. Of the past members, Mr. Capen 
and Mr. Murphy would well illustrate that fact. 
The successful beginnings of a part of this training, 
and the large results over a wide territory, are owing 
to the clear vision and great benevolence of Mrs. 
Mary Hem en way. 

Mr. Chairman, I heartily second the resolutions. 



ADDRESS 



BY 



GRANVILLE B. PUTNAM 

Master of the Franklin School 



Address by Granville B. Putnam 



Why this gathered throng of teachers upon a 
mid-week afternoon? Why are thirteen hundred 
schoolrooms silent and deserted ? Why has the 
hum of the educational machinery of the city 
ceased ? This is a memorial service ! Yes ! But 
in whose honor are we assembled in this place 
sacred with hallowed memories ? Is it some mili- 
tary chieftain, whose name, "untarnished on the 
roll of fame, has added lustre to a new historic 
page " ? Is it some dead statesman, whose words 
swayed senates or whose will controlled the nation's 
destiny ? No ! We, the teachers of the public 
schools of Boston, have assembled to pay our hum- 
ble tribute to a private citizen, — a woman, a noble 
woman. Her name is Mary. 

" This sweetest name that mortals bear 
Were best befitting her ; 
For she, to whom it once was given. 
Was half of earth and half of heaven." 



32 Memorial Service 

And, since all titles seem but to belittle the names 
of great men and women, shall we not call her 
simply Mary Hemenway ? She possessed many 
virtues, which won the respect and admiration of 
friends and those who were brought into intimate 
relations with her. To most of us, and to the public 
at large, she was known chiefly by her interest in 
education and the wisdom which she manifested in 
the annual distribution of her large income. If all 
the facts were known, her benevolence would ap- 
pear even greater than it now seems. Of late years 
she has trenched upon her invested resources, in 
order that projects dear to her heart might not 
suffer for lack of aid. 

Contrasted with her generous deeds, how pitiable 
appears the course of many who have possessed 
large wealth ! The last will and testament of a 
woman recently filed in New York decreed that the 
sum of ^1,000,000 be devoted to the building of her 
own mausoleum ; and far too many live and strive 
merely to pile thousands upon thousands, or, it may 
be, millions upon millions already secured, and all 
for selfish ends. To such is it unjust to apply the 
caustic words of Walter Scott .? 



Mrs. Mary Hemenway 33 

" The wretch, concentred all in self, 
Living, shall forfeit fair renown, 
And, doubly dying, shall go down 
To the vile dust, from whence he sprung. 
Unwept, unhonored, and unsung," 

Not of such as these was Mary Hemenway. The 
mother love of her heart embraced not her own off- 
spring alone, but, broadened and extended, it in- 
cluded the child o^i^^e^o^r^whitegi^sjthe Carolinas, 
the black man ofM;he eot-^oiW£lel4*-a_nd tSte Indian of 
the prairie. |*JUN 21 1895 •)i 

She knew froik'^ily-e ^pq p ic g<^e--^thejjim^ which 
comes from genero^§^fe|}|jQ^ip^^^J;C^^M^found sym- 
pathy for those who neverT;asted"orits blessedness. 

Grateful to the teachers of the city for their hearty 
co-operation in the execution of her plans, she gra- 
ciously said, " We have done thus and so," or ** Our 
purpose is," etc., thus cordially recognizing the 
teachers' agency in the outworking of her grand 
designs. 

She poured forth her gifts in unfrequented chan- 
nels. She was less interested in those perpetually 
poor, feeling that there were organizations of charity 
devoted to their interests. She sought rather to 



34 Memorial Service 

find out those who had seen better days, but who 
from stress of circumstances were in temporary 
need ; and to such she loved to give, that by so 
doing she might bridge the stream of adversity, and 
land them safely on the solid bank of prosperity 
beyond. 

She was a zealous patriot, and believing, with 
Edward Everett, that "education is a better safe- 
guard of liberty than a standing army," she sought 
to secure the best practical instruction to fit children 
for the common employments of life. At the same 
time she used direct means to instil into youthful 
hearts the fervor of patriotism. 

But it is mine to speak, more especially, of her 
relations to the Boston Teachers' Mutual Benefit 
Association. 

While it existed as yet but in the minds of a few 
determined women, its purpose was explained to her. 
She entered heartily into its spirit, delighted at the 
thought that at last a plan was being devised by 
which provision would be made for those infirm 
through age or disabled by service. In the course of 
conversation, she exclaimed, "Nothing is too good 
for the Boston teachers." "Tell them to go for- 



Mrs. Mary Hemenway 35 

ward and form the Association, and I will be with 
them." 

She offered ;^500 as a gift with which to start the 
enterprise, but was told that it was not money, but 
patronage, which was then desired. Gladly was the 
influence of her name given as a supporter of the 
movement. 

When the matter was brought before the masters, 
and with their hearty co-operation the Association 
was formed upon its present basis, she proved a friend 
indeed. Not only was the money, early promised, 
forwarded to the Treasurer, but other gifts followed. 

But for her assured assistance, I am confident the 
great Bazaar, which netted our treasury $56,000, 
would never have been held. Those who consti- 
tuted the Board of Trustees were absolutely adverse 
to fairs, even though they saw the needs of the 
Association and longed for the time when ;^6o,ooo 
should be secured for the permanent fund, so that 
all the income might be applied to annuities, accord- 
ing to the terms of the constitution. All relutance 
to enter upon the project was laid aside, however, 
when from her lips came the assurance that our 
efforts would certainly be crowned with success. 



36 Memorial Sei'vice 

When the time for action came, she took her 
carriage, day after day, and went from house to 
house among her friends to tell of our plans, and 
solicit the co-operation of the wealth and culture of 
our city. Nor were her efforts vain. The best 
names of Boston found a place upon our list of 
patrons ; and, when the long-looked-for 5th of De- 
cember came and the doors of Music Hall were 
opened, the elite of Boston flocked to it, and their 
money was generously bestowed. 

The then unknown donors of ^500, ^1,000, and 
;^5,ooo still remain unknown to the Trustees ; but I 
doubt not that, directly or indirectly, these generous 
gifts may be traced to the words or deeds of our 
most noble patron. Far more to her than to any 
other person is our phenomenal success to be as- 
cribed, when we consider the Bazaar as a whole ; but 
a general interest in it did not satisfy her. She vol- 
untarily took charge of the table of " Comfort for the 
Sick." It was furnished from her own purse. New 
York and other cities were drawn upon for everything 
which the ingenuity of the past decade has invented 
to minister to the needs of suffering humanity. 

Every afternoon and every evening of the week 



Mrs. Mary Hemenway 37 

found her at her post behind that table ; and, when 
the Bazaar was closed, she purchased, at its full 
value, all that remained unsold. 

Indebted as we of the Association are to her, let 
us not forget that this was but a single one of her 
many benefactions. Busy with her plans for doing 
good, unconsciously she was writing her name upon 
the tablets of human hearts ; and distant be the day 
when that name, honored and beloved, shall be 
effaced ! 

"Margaret Fuller Ossoli was a great being," ex- 
claimed a college mate of mine, years ago, in the 
opening sentence of an oration upon the life and 
character of that remarkable woman, the friend of 
Emerson and Hawthorne and Channing. The 
abruptness of the expression stamped it upon my 
memory, while all else in the oration has long since 
faded from it. With like vividness would I impress 
upon your memories the thought that Mary Hemen- 
way was a great being. I use the expression ad- 
visedly. 

"Great minds alone, like Heaven, are pleased 
• in doing good." True greatness cannot exist apart 
from goodness. It is of the heart, first of all ; and 



38 Memorial Sei'vice 

"• he alone is great who floods the world with a great 
affection." She attained to this greatness because 
she came to feel that her life belonged to humanity, 
and that whatever of heart or money God had be- 
stowed upon her had been given that therewith she 
might bless mankind. My mother was a pupil of 
Mary Lyon, that great teacher who founded Mt. 
Holyoke Female Seminary, and planted the germ of 
all the female colleges of the land. At that now 
sainted mother's knee I learned to revere that hon- 
ored name. It was a household word in my boy- 
hood home. 

In early manhood I made a pilgrimage to South 
Hadley and stood beside her grave. There upon 
the monumental stone I read these words, which I 
would now address to Mary Hemenway : — 

" Servant of God, well done, 
Rest from thy loved employ ! 
The battle fought, the victory won, 
Enter thy Master's joy." 



ADDRESS 



BY 



EDWIN P. SEAVER 

Superintendent of Schools 



Address by Edwin P. Seaver 



How the Old South Meeting-house was saved 
from threatened destruction is a well-known story 
that needs not now to be repeated. Mrs. Hemen- 
way's interest in that patriotic enterprise did not 
end with her giving a large share of the purchase 
money. That generous gift was but the beginning 
of a larger enterprise, — the prelude to a nobler 
history. 

These ancient walls had been saved. What 
should be done with them .? They might have been 
allowed to stand as mute witnesses to the events of 
a glorious past. They might have been used merely 
as a shelter for curious old relics, which antiquarians 
love to study and passing visitors cast a glance upon. 
And so the old meeting-house might have stood 
many years more, — a monument to religion and 
freedom, not unworthy, indeed, of its purpose, but 
yet a silent monument. 



42 Memorial Service 

The plans of Mrs. Hemenway were larger and 
more vital. The old building should be not only a 
relic and monument of the past, but a temple for 
present inspiration and instruction. The thoughts 
and the hopes that aforetime had thrilled the hearts 
of men assembled in this house should live again in 
the words of eloquent teachers. Here should young 
people gather to learn lessons of virtue and patriot- 
ism from the lives of great men whose deeds have 
glorified our nation's annals. What has now become 
known throughout the country as " The Old South 
Work" is the outgrowth of this fruitful idea. Let 
us briefly review the particulars of this ** Old South 
Work," keeping in mind as we do so its main pur- 
poses, which are first to interest young people in 
American history, and then, through that interest, 
to inspire them with a love of their country, and to 
instruct them wisely concerning the duties and privi- 
leges of citizenship under a free government. Can 
any instruction more vital to the public good be 
thought of .? 

First, we may notice that Washington's Birthday 
has been appropriately celebrated in this house every 
year from 1879. Other national holidays have been 



Mrs. Mary Hemenzvay 43 

celebrated likewise, or may hereafter be celebrated ; 
for the idea is a growing one. 

Next should be noticed "The Old South Lect- 
ures." As early as 1879, and in the two years fol- 
lowing, courses of lectures on topics of American 
history were delivered in this house by Mr. John 
Fiske, who has since become so well known as a 
brilliant writer on historical subjects. That these 
lectures would be intensely interesting to the adult 
portion of the audiences was naturally enough ex- 
pected at the time ; but it was hardly foreseen that 
the young people would be so thoroughly fascinated 
as they were with a lecturer who had been known 
chiefly as a writer on deep philosophical subjects. 
Mr. Fiske has been a frequent lecturer on this plat- 
form from 1879 down to the present time. 

In 1883 "The Old South Lectures," properly so 
called, were organized on a definite and permanent 
plan. Each year the work to be done is laid out 
in a systematic manner. A general topic is chosen, 
and particular topics under this are assigned to 
different speakers, who are invited because their 
special knowledge of the topics assigned them gives 
great interest or importance to what they may have 



44 Memorial Service 

to say. The great interest awakened by these lect- 
ures has led to the repetition of many of them in 
other cities. 

*' The Old South Leaflets " are an interesting aux- 
iliary to the lectures. A practice was early adopted 
of providing in printed form the means of further 
studying the matters touched upon by the lecturer 
of the day. The leaflets so provided contained not 
merely an outline of the lecture, but the texts of 
important historical documents not otherwise easily 
accessible, and references to authorities with critical 
notes thereupon, and other interesting special matter. 
These leaflets have proved to be so useful to teachers 
in their school work that the directors of '* The Old 
South Work" have published a general series of 
them, which are to be continued, and are supplied to 
schools at the bare cost of paper and printing. 

Perhaps "The Old South Essays" touch the Bos- 
ton public schools more immediately than does any 
other part of ''The Old South Work." Every year, 
beginning with 1881, have been offered to high 
school pupils soon to become graduates, and also to 
recent graduates, four prizes, two of forty and two 
of twenty-five dollars each, for the best essays on 



Mrs. Mary Hemenway 45 

assigned topics of American history. The usual 
objection to the plan of encouraging study by the 
offer of prizes, that many strive and few win, so that 
the joy of victory in the few is more than offset by 
the disappointment of failure in the many, was met 
in the present case with characteristic wisdom and 
liberality ; for every writer of an essay not winning 
a money prize has received a present of valuable 
books in recognition of his worthy effort. The 
judges who make the awards of prizes state that 
crude essays, betraying a want of study and care on 
the part of the writers, are extremely rare. On the 
other hand, there are often so many essays of the 
highest general excellence that the task of making 
a just award is a difficult one. 

Some of these essays have been printed in the 
New England Magazine and in other periodicals. 
Some have been published in pamphlet form, and 
have received the favorable notice of historical 
scholars. It is now the custom to invite at least 
one of the prize essayists each year to deliver one 
of ''The Old South Lectures." 

Among the more distinguished of the essayists 
may be named Mr. Henry L. Southwick, a graduate 



46 Memorial Service 

of the Dorchester High School, whose prize essay of 
the year 1881, entitled "The Policy of the Early 
Colonists of Massachusetts toward Quakers and 
Others whom they regarded as Intruders," attracted 
much attention ; Mr. F. E. E. Hamilton, a graduate 
of the English High School, and since an alumnus of 
Harvard College ; Mr. Robert M. Lovett, a graduate 
of the Boston Latin School, who led his class at 
Harvard College ; Miss Caroline E. Stecker, who 
took prizes in two successive years ; and Mr. Leo R. 
Lewis of the English High School, now a professor 
in Tufts College. Others there are who may be 
expected hereafter to distinguish themselves in the 
line of work for which the writing of their essays 
was the beginning of a preparation. 

The whole number of Old South essayists is now 
over one hundred. About twenty of these have 
been or still are students in colleges, some proceed- 
ing thither in regular course from the Latin schools, 
but others in less easy ways, being impelled to the 
effort undoubtedly by a desire for higher education 
that had grown out of their historical studies for 
their essays. But among the essayists who have 
not become college students, the interest in historical 



Mt-s. Mmy Hemenway 47 

studies has been no less abiding. The Old South 
Historical Society, formed about two years ago, is 
composed of persons who have written historical 
essays for the Old South Prizes. Quarterly meet- 
ings are held for the reading of papers and for dis- 
cussion on historical subjects. This society may 
well be regarded with peculiar interest by our 
teachers, because it represents the best historical 
scholarship of successive years in the high schools 
of Boston. It may soon become, if it be not already, 
one of the most important learned societies in this 
city. 

But historical study and writing are not for the 
many, nor are they enough to satisfy the few. A 
broader influence may touch the hearts of all through 
music. Out of this thought has grown the society 
known as '' The Old South Young People's Chorus." 

At many of " The Old South Lectures " there has 
been singing of national patriotic hymns by large 
choruses of boys and girls from the public schools, 
three or four hundred often taking part. On the 
Washington's Birthday celebrations there has always 
been singing by the public school children. These 
interesting exercises have led to a more permanent 



48 Memorial Service 

organization for the practice of patriotic music, 
which flourishes now under the name of "Young 
People's Chorus." 

Finally, let us note the extension of ''The Old 
South Work" to other cities, as Providence, Brook- 
lyn, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Chicago, 
Madison, Milwaukee, and others. Everywhere the 
idea of bringing our national history home to the 
minds and hearts of young people through an awak- 
ened interest in monuments and memorials of the 
past has been enthusiastically received. Philadel- 
phia no less than Boston has her shrines of freedom. 
There is no city or town in the land that does not 
possess something interesting as a memorial of past 
events, — events which the national historian may 
regard as of no more than local importance, but 
which, by the very circumstance of being local, best 
show the child the stuff out of which the fabric of 
our national history is woven. Everywhere, there- 
fore, the materials for "The Old South Work" are 
at hand ; and the plan of this work is so simple that 
it can be adopted everywhere. Let us hope, then, 
that "The Old South Work" may spread all through 
the land, everywhere yielding a rich fruitage of pure 



Mrs. Mary Heinenway 49 

patriotism and good citizenship. Like the Tree of 
Life in the City of God, may it flourish and yield 
fruit every month ; and may the leaves thereof be 
"for the healing of the nations !" 



ADDRESS 



BY 



JAMES A. PAGE 

{Master of the Dwight School 



Address by James A. Page 



I cannot feel that we come here this afternoon to 
lament and regret so much as to appreciate and to 
respond, and to gird up our loins for work along the 
pathways which have been so liberally and so dis- 
tinctly blazed for us. 

We know, none better than we, that the good 
school is the product of many factors. The teacher 
himself is one certainly, but only one. We see daily 
and hourly in all our classes the pale face and the 
unhealthy complexion, and we hail the coming of the 
cooking school. We know well enough what that 
will do for us when it shall have reached the lowest 
levels of the public mind and life. 

How often we see the dull eye and the drooping 
head ; and then we know that the " cubic spaces " in 
the sleeping-room and living-room at home have 
been ignored ; and we stand up in our places to 
salute, ''the anti-tenement house league." 



54 Memorial Service 

We know the alert mind in the sound body, and 
we render thanks for the gymnasium. Boston has 
been grateful many times that public-spirited in- 
dividuals have been found within her borders. This 
house and this occasion are the place and time in 
which to speak of such as they. 

Of the public-spirited woman in whose honor we 
are met it may be said, in the language of Sydney 
Smith, that she was three women, not one woman. 

Practical as a business man, she was yet tender 
and generous to many different sorts of people. 
Expecting always faithful and loyal service, she was 
considerate of those carrying forward her great 
plans. She delighted to spend money, as she was 
spending it, for lofty purposes. She had strength, — 
the strength of opposite qualities, the strength that 
fits for public service. The city was fortunate that 
at such a time, or at any time, such service was to 
be had. 

The woman who gave this service saw very surely 
that any institution, to be lasting, must be firmly 
founded ; and her motto therefore in this, as in other 
things, was, *^go slowly." We had had ''systems" 
of gymnastics before, and they had vanished. We 



Mrs. Mary Hetnefiway 55 

had had " fads " of this kind, and they had perished 
one by one. The thing to be done now was to se- 
cure a plan that should be workable, and yet should 
be based on well-ascertained physiological and psy- 
chological data. 

She gave her mind to this. In 1888 the co-opera- 
tion of twenty-five teachers was secured, and the 
work was carried on for a considerable time in rooms 
at Boylston Place. After much experience had been 
gained and circumstances had seemed to justify it, 
larger rooms were obtained ; and in 1889 the masters 
of the schools were invited to interest themselves in 
the movement and to take part in the exercises. 
They responded to the call without an exception, I 
believe; and the work took on a wider scope. It 
was in this year also, 1889, that the Conference on 
Physical Training took place, under the auspices of 
this school ; and the advocates of many different 
systems were invited to take part, and each to show 
by example and on the stage the special excellences 
of his own school of work. The German pupils, 
those of the Christian Associations, of Delsarte, of 
the colleges, of the Swedish, and of some private, 
schools, took the stage successively, and had ample 



56 Memorial Service 

opportunity to demonstrate the value of their several 
systems. A brilliant reception was given in the 
evening. 

It was determined, I think, at this time, by a 
very general consensus of opinion, that for the 
public schools of this city as a whole, and with all 
their limitations, the Swedish system was the best 
adapted. 

From this time, convinced it was on the right 
track, the Boston Normal School of Gymnastics has 
continued a constantly growing power and success. 
Under the same firm but fostering hand as at the 
beginning, it outgrew its quarters in Park Street, 
and since 1890 has been located in more commo- 
dious rooms at the Paine Memorial Building. It 
has graduated three classes, that of 1891 consist- 
ing of twelve students, that of 1892 also of twelve, 
and that of 1893 consisting of forty-three students, 
and this with a constantly advancing standard as to 
conditions of admission. In addition to these regu- 
lar graduates, thirty pupils have received one-year 
certificates ; and some of them are now doing good 
work as teachers. 

The school has at its head Miss Amy Morris Ho- 



Mrs. Mary Hemenway 57 

mans, and in its staff such men as Dr. Enebuske, 
the Professor of Philosophy at Harvard University, 
the Dean of the Harvard Medical School, and the 
Professor of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute 
of Technology. 

It is not strange, then, that the services of pupils 
trained in such a way should be in demand in all 
parts of the country. Two have gone to the Drexel 
Institute of Philadelphia; two have gone to Smith 
College, Northampton ; two to Radcliffe College, 
Cambridge ; one to Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania ; four 
to different State normal schools in Massachusetts ; 
one to Oshkosh, Wisconsin ; one to Denver, Colo- 
rado ; one to the Normal College, Milledgeville, 
Georgia ; and one each to Gloucester, Lynn, Law- 
rence, Dedham, Cambridge, and Pawtucket. 

The aggregate salaries paid to the young ladies of 
the three classes already graduated are not less than 
;^50,ooo, the highest single salary reaching ;^ 1,800, 
and the average being slightly less than ;^ 1,000. 

These statements give but a faint idea of the work 
of the school, — its fineness, its scope, its far-reach- 
ing quality. But we can see that the bread cast on 
the waters is beginning to return. These centres 



58 Memorial Service 

throughout the country are already established. Im- 
agine them, as the years go by, multiplied a thou- 
sand-fold, making a better and happier because a 
stronger people, and then bring the threads back to 
this place, and connect them with the deed of one 
noble, public-spirited woman. 

The counterpart of this picture is the one of 
60,000 children taking the Swedish exercises daily 
in our own city schools, under the direction of 
teachers acquainted with the system from actual 
contact with it, and under the supervision of an 
expert like Dr. Hartwell. Who that saw the exposi- 
tion of it at the English High School on Saturday 
last can hesitate in his hearty God-speed, or forget 
the one whose initiative made it all possible.? 

It is pleasing to think that she saw some of the 
fruits of her work, some of the coming events cast- 
ing their brightness before. Guizot said of Wash- 
ington : " In men who are worthy of their destiny, 
all weariness, all sadness, though it be warrantable, 
is weakness. Their mission is toil ; their reward, 
the success of their works, but still in toil. Often- 
times they die, bent under the burden, before that 
meed is vouchsafed to them. Washington obtained 



Mrs. Mary Hemenway 59 

it. He deserved and tasted success. Of all great 
men, he was the most virtuous and the most happy. 
God has, in this world, no higher favors to bestow." 

Mrs, Hemenway must have felt this sacred joy. 
But there is another joy hardly less sacred, the joy 
in the very doing of the work. ''What a delightful 
time I am having with it all ! " she said to her friend ; 
and at the moment her charities were flowing out in 
channels wide as seas. And so her work was done. 

The lesson of the hour is the "lofty deed": the 
world is hungry for those who will do things. It is 
the amount of character that we put into conduct 
that tells. When Charles Kingsley was asked to 
write something worth remembering in a young 
girl's album, he wrote, — 

" Be good, sweet maid, and let who will be clever : 
Do noble things, not dream them all day long, 
And so make life, death, and that vast forever 
One grand sweet song." 

Learning, money, personal quality, are nothing till 
they express themselves. Pestalozzi taught us the 
value of the object lesson, clear impression. Froebel 
went farther, and insisted on expression. The child 



6o Memorial Service 

must do something, hence clay-modelling and draw- 
ing. All the poets and all the educators agree in 

this. 

"Battle nor song can from oblivion save, 
But fame on a white deed loves to build ; 
From out that cup of water Sidney gave, 
Not one drop has been spilled." 

The other lesson of the hour is that of " the pure 
intent." Two things are necessary to the life that 
would become open to the highest experience, — 
*Vthe life of the pure intent and the life of the 
brotherly act." 

And it is because the life of our dear friend and 
benefactor was lived out on these lines that we are 
here this afternoon. It seems to me that from now 
on, and to us teachers, another '' Presence " is added 
to those who seem to look down upon us from these 
sacred walls, and that always, when we come in here, 
she will be one among those, — 

" The dead but sceptred sovereigns, who still rule 
Our spirits from their urns." 



ADDRESS 



BY 



LARKIN DUNTON 

Head Master of the Boston Normal School 



Address by Larkin Dunton 



Any great philanthropic enterprise, to be emi- 
nently successful, needs to be planned in wisdom, 
conducted in love, and sustained with money. The 
ideal philanthropist knows the weaknesses, wrongs, 
and sufferings of human beings. He knows what 
they suffer now and what they will suffer in the 
future ; and his prophetic view is just as clear as his 
direct vision. He knows, too, the possibilities and 
conditions of higher happiness. 

He also knows the causes of human misery, 
whether these causes exist in a starved and sickly 
body, in ignorance of the laws of health, in the lack 
of the means of proper activity, in the inability 
to do what ought to be done, or in bad habits of 
physical, intellectual, and moral action. He sees 
with equal clearness the causes of present suffering 
and the influences which are to bring suffering upon 
generations yet unborn. As he sees the past in the 



64 Memorial Service 

present, so he sees the present in the future. Pain 
and pleasure are, in his view, aUke subject to the 
eternal law of causation. 

The remedies of human ills are equally clear to 
him. He knows that, as pain never comes uncaused, 
so it never disappears while the cause remains. He 
sees that the prevention of suffering consists in the 
removal of the conditions that produce it, and that 
higher happiness depends upon a higher life. He 
knows that these laws are applicable not only to 
individual men and single moments, but to races, 
and through the ages, as well. 

Then, too, the ideal philanthropist has a kind 
heart. His vision of human woe is so clear that he 
becomes a fellow-sufferer with those in distress. 
Every revelation of pain in others, whether it be 
present or prospective, brings to him a sympathetic 
pang. More than this, his tender heart is melted in 
love ; and he is impelled to labor for the relief of the 
distressed and the uplifting of the dejected. He 
sees the future so clearly that he is equally moved 
with sympathy and love for those now living and 
those yet to be born. 

But, while wisdom and love are the o:uide and 



Mrs. Mary Hev,ienway 65 

inspiration of the ideal philanthropist, the furnishing 
of ways and means for his contest with evil requires 
a full purse. Money is needed for feeding the 
hungry and clothing the naked, for strengthening 
the weak and instructing the ignorant, for opposing 
the wrong and guiding the right, and, no less, for 
creating the aspirations and means for higher living. 
Though the head be clear and the heart be warm, 
without money little can be done. 

If a man has wisdom and money, but no heart, he 
does nothing for his fellow-men. If his purse is full 
and his heart is warm, yet, if he lacks wisdom to 
guide his efforts, he is as likely to harm as to help. 
But happy is it for the world when wisdom, love, 
and wealth are the joint possession of one great soul. 
They then constitute an irresistible force. Mrs. 
Mary Hemenway possessed them all in largest 
measure. Let us note briefly the comprehensive- 
ness of view and kindness of heart that are shown 
in the work of this grand woman. 

She was allowed to grow up, as she said, without 
learning to do things ; and she noticed that girls 
who were efficient workers were happy. She felt 
that she had been deprived of her birthright. This 



66 Memorial Service 

was her first inspiration for teaching girls to sew ; 
though she saw also the effect of a knowledge of this 
work in their future homes as well as in helpfulness 
to their mothers. Through her efforts sewing was 
introduced into the schools of Boston. But she was 
too wise to allow this branch of instruction to depend 
upon the life of any one person. She began at once 
to interest the School Committee and teachers in the 
work, to the end that it might be incorporated into 
the regular programme of the schools, be given to 
all the girls, and, more than this, be made perpetual 
by being put under the fostering care of the im- 
mortal city. The example of Boston has been widely 
copied, so that the influence of the work thus 
unostentatiously begun, but so wisely managed, has 
extended and will extend to millions of children and 
millions of homes. 

A legitimate result of the introduction of this new 
branch of instruction has been the creation of a 
department of sewing in the Boston Normal School, 
so that hereafter sewing is to be taught by women as 
able and as well educated as those who teach arithme- 
tic or language, and is, therefore, to take its place as 
an educational force in the development of our girls. 



Mrs. Mary Hemenway 6/ 

Through various experiments in vacation schools 
in summer, Mrs. Hemenway came to see that it 
would be possible to raise the standard of cooking in 
the homes of the people by teaching the art to the 
children in the public schools. This, she thought, 
would not only raise up a stronger race of men and 
v/omen, but would make their homes happier and 
more attractive, and so would lessen the temptation 
of fathers and sons to spend their evenings at the 
saloon. And thus good cooking came to stand in 
her mind as the handmaid of temperance. 

But she was wise enough to see that the realiza- 
tion of her ideal — namely, the universality and per- 
petuity of good cooking — depended upon two condi- 
tions : first, that the work must be under the care 
and support of an abiding power ; and, second, that 
the instruction must be given by competent teachers. 
Hence she set herself to work to demonstrate the 
feasibility of the plan to the school authorities, to 
the end that they would undertake it for all the girls 
of the city. At the same time, seeing that there 
were no suitable teachers for this new branch of 
education, she established a normal school of cook- 
ing, which she has maintained to the present time. 



68 Memorial Service 

This normal school has not only supplied the 
school kitchens of Boston with competent teachers, 
but has supplied other cities with teachers, so that 
other centres of like influence could be created. 
This institution has also shown the authorities here 
the necessity of training teachers for this kind of 
school work, and a department of cooking has been 
provided for in the city Normal School. So the con- 
tinuation and improvement of the work are secured. 

When Mrs. Hemenway's attention was called to 
physical training as a means of improving the health, 
physique, and graceful bearing of the young, she im- 
mediately began experimenting with various systems 
of gymnastics for the purpose of ascertaining which 
was best adapted to the needs of American children. 

She soon became so favorably impressed with the 
Swedish system that she invited twenty-five Boston 
teachers to assist her in making her experiment with 
it. Their judgment of the result was so favorable 
that she made an offer to the School Committee to 
train a hundred teachers in the system, on condition 
that they be allowed to use the exercises in their 
classes in case they chose to do so. The offer was 
accepted, and the result proved a success. 



Mrs. Mary Hem emu ay 69 

Mrs. Hemenway saw at the outset that what she 
could do personally was but a trifle compared to 
what ought to be done. So she decided to start the 
work in such a way that it would become as broad 
as Boston and as lasting. Hence she began at once 
to share the responsibility with the city, and to train 
the teachers for the work. 

She soon gained such a broad view of the possi- 
bilities of the system that she decided to make it 
more generally known. This led to the great Con- 
ference on Physical Training in Boston in 1889, 
which did so much to arouse an interest in the sub- 
ject and to create a demand for teachers specially 
trained for the work. But it was not enough to cre- 
ate a demand for teachers : the demand must be 
met. So she established the Boston Normal School 
of Gymnastics for the education and training of 
teachers of gymnastics. 

Mere imitators would not do for this work. She 
believed the body to be the temple of God, and that 
it should be guarded and adorned by those who 
knew it so well as to believe in its possibilities and 
its sacredness. This school has done much to 
qualify the teachers of Boston for conducting the 



70 Memorial Service 

Swedish exercises ; and it has sent its graduates into 
many other cities, which in turn have become 
centres of inspiration and help along the same line. 
Mrs. Hemenway through this school will improve 
the physical power, health, and morality of millions 
of our children. 

But she was not satisfied with all this. She saw 
that, to make this work perpetual in Boston, the 
education of teachers of gymnastics must be made 
perpetual : it must not depend upon one frail life. 
So she furnished the best equipped teacher that she 
could procure to give instruction in the theory and 
art of gymnastics in the Boston Normal School, till 
a woman could be educated for the place. When 
this was done and the School Committee had ap- 
pointed a competent teacher, Mrs. Hemenway's 
influence was gradually withdrawn. So that now 
every graduate of our Normal School goes out pre- 
pared to direct intelligently the work in gymnastics ; 
and all is done that human foresight could devise to 
make instruction in this subject perpetual. 

Her work in connection with the Old South had 
the same general aim. It was to improve the morals 
of the people by teaching patriotism widely and 



Mrs. Mary Hemenzvay J\ 

perpetually. She once said: "I have just given a 
hundred thousand dollars to save the Old South ; 
yet I care nothing for the church or the corner lot. 
But, if I live, such teaching shall be done in that old 
building and such an influence shall go out from it 
as shall make the children of future generations 
love their country so tenderly that there can never 
be another civil war in this country." This senti- 
ment accounts for her support of Old South summer 
lectures and Old South prize essays for the develop- 
ment of patriotism in the young. 

Mrs. Hemenway spent a hundred thousand dollars 
in building up the Tileston Normal School in Wil- 
mington, North Carolina. When asked why she 
gave money to support schools in the South, she 
replied : " When my country called for her sons to 
defend the flag, I had none to give. Mine was but a 
lad of twelve. I gave my money as a thank-offering 
that I was not called to suffer as other mothers who 
gave their sons and lost them. I gave it that the 
children of this generation might be taught to love 
the flag their fathers tore down." 

Her great heart harbored no resentment to those 
who had sent suffering and sorrow to thousands of 



^2 Memorial Service 

homes. She loved her country and all its sons, 
and gave her fortune that its blessings might be 
eternal. 

What a work to accomplish in one short life ! 
How could it all be done ? Mrs. Hemenway had a 
profundity of wisdom which few people compre- 
hended, because she never paraded her wisdom or 
her work. She saw broadly and deeply. She sought 
remedial measures. She built for all time. She 
called about her efficient workers, and secured their 
best efforts. She saw that great results must come 
from the co-operation of large numbers. She en- 
listed the whole teaching force of Boston and other 
cities in her great enterprises. 

She was a lover of her kind. She gave full credit 
to those who worked with her. She said and she 
believed that her co-workers were the more impor- 
tant factor in securing results. She praised little, 
because she believed in generosity and duty. She 
worked not for her personal glory, but for the good 
of humanity. Her benevolence fell little short of 
perfect disinterestedness. This is what made her 
philanthropic spirit so contagious. What a pleasure 
it was to work with her ! She always put her heart 



Mrs. Mary Hemenway 73 

where her money went. She cheered every class of 
her fellow- workers with her sympathetic presence. 

She was a happy woman. She put herself so 
perfectly in the place of those she helped that their 
joys were her own. 

Her life is a living example of what, under God, 
the use of a great fortune should be. Any man of 
talent, heart, and wealth might well aspire to imitate 
the example of wise and far-reaching benevolence 
set by this noble woman. 



ADDRESS 



BY 



JOHN O. NORRIS 

Head (Master of the Charlestown High School 



Address by John O. Norris 



The true measure and estimate of a human life is 
the sum of its beneficent deeds. The best story of 
such a life is the record of those deeds from the lips 
of persons familiar with them, and, consequently, 
able to understand and appreciate them. That rec- 
ord you have heard to-day, respecting the life of her 
whose memory we are met to honor, told with elo- 
quence, with fidelity to truth, with profound grati- 
tude, with sincere admiration and affection. 

But more eloquent, far more eloquent than human 
lips, is this occasion and this place. 

Remarkable, indeed, is this occasion, perhaps 
without a parallel in the history of our city. 

Often before has Boston paid honor to those who, 
by distinguished services to the city, state, or nation, 
have made themselves dear to the hearts of the peo- 
ple ; but to-day it has closed its public schools, by 
official direction, that its servants, the teachers, may 



78 Memorial Service 

unite in this service to the memory of a woman 
who, in a most quiet and unostentatious way, for 
years devoted her time and her means to making its 
children and their teachers happier and better. 

This place also speaks to us. Hallowed by more 
than a century of divine worship, vocal, almost, with 
the echoes of purest patriotism and of most he- 
roic deeds, teeming with glorious memories of the 
founders of our nation, it bids us remember her 
whose efforts saved it from destruction, and made it 
an object lesson to future generations, the home of 
all that is most inspiring to our youth. 

It bids us remember that here, initiated by her 
patriotic wisdom, shall be taught the noble lessons 
of love of country, of gratitude to those who made 
and preserved the nation, of high and devoted 
service to the commonwealth, of true, unselfish 
citizenship. 

Were this all, it would entitle Mrs. Hemenway to 
the gratitude of every lover of his country ; but, great 
and valuable as was all this, it formed but a small 
part of that for which we hold her in grateful 
remembrance. 

We must also and always call to mind what she 



Mrs. Mary Hemenway 79 

did for public education by broadening and develop- 
ing it, so that it should touch more closely the prac- 
tical side of life. As my mind has turned to this 
subject of late, again and again, two scenes have 
associated themselves in my thought. 

The first is purely the child of the imagination, 
which delights itself in picturing the birth of the 
idea in that noble mind. 

I see a woman sitting by the seaside while the sun 
is setting. Its fading light falls on her and about 
her, and lends to her face a glow like " the light that 
never was on land or sea." She looks out on the 
billows beautiful in the coming twilight ; but she 
sees them not, nor yet the solitary star in the east, 
that seems to look kindly on. Deep in thought, she 
is oblivious to the beauty of the dying day. 

An open book is in her lap, and her finger marks 
lines that I can plainly read : — 

" For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat. I 
was thirsty, and ye gave me drink ; naked, and ye 
clothed me. I was sick and in prison, and ye vis- 
ited me. 

"Then shall the righteous answer. Lord, when 
saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee ; or thirsty, 



8o Memorial Service 

and gave thee drink ; or naked, and clothed thee ; or 
sick and in prison, and visited thee ? 

" And the King shall answer, and say unto them, 
Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it 
unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have 
done it unto me." 

Thus it is, devoutly and deeply do I believe, that 
the heavenly vision that came to Jesus comes to the 
great souls of all the benefactors of the race, and 
that spirit of ministry which he taught and manifested 
finds a recognition and response in their hearts. 

Blessed are those who, like our friend, are "not 
disobedient to the heavenly vision." 

The other scene is one that we all know and 
remember. 

The great Music Hall is in gala attire, arrayed for 
the Bazaar of the Teachers' Benefit Association. 

The vast throng of people fills every nook and 
corner. From the Governor of the Commonwealth 
to the little girl or boy of the primary school, come 
the helping hand and the encouraging word. 

Touched by the magic of one woman, the wealth 
and culture of the city go up thither to assist in 
making the effort a great social and financial success. 



Mrs. Mary Hemenway 8 1 

Up and down the hall stretches the double row of 
booths, presided over by many of Boston's most dis- 
tinguished daughters. 

At one of these sits this woman, whose influence 
and leadership made it possible to record the mag- 
nificent result. 

Day after day finds her there as many hours as 
her strength permits, delighted with everything and 
delightful to everybody. 

Her courage, her enthusiasm, her confidence in 
the sympathy and support of the public, never waver 
nor falter. 

From the beginning she has insisted that the 
net result will be greater than the most sanguine 
dare expect. From day to day the proceeds swell 
toward her estimate ; and at last, when the fulfilment 
of her prophecy and desire becomes certain, none of 
those immediately and directly interested express 
more genuine satisfaction. 

Never, to my eye, was presented a scene more 
beautiful than that of this woman, so near the sun- 
set of life, looking back through vistas of good deeds, 
grateful for present opportunities for service, and 
trusting the future with hope and confidence. 



82 Memorial Service 

It is fitting at this time that some mention should 
be made of the qualities of mind and heart that con- 
tributed to the greatness of Mrs. Hemenway. 

First of all must be put great mental power and 
insight, which enabled her to make plans which 
worked through a long series of events to a given 
result. 

It is the creative mind that builds everything 
which contributes to human progress and happiness. 

As the first locomotive existed complete in the 
mind of its builder before his hands set about the 
work of construction, so the work to be done by this 
building, and by all the movements that bear its 
name, existed in the mind of Mrs. Hemenway before 
she drew the check that secured it to the uses for 
which she intended it ; and this is but typical of all 
in which she was engaged. 

No less important were her lofty moral character 
and high moral ideals. While much of her work, ex- 
ternally, seemed devoted only to the physical well- 
being of men, it was always so considered and so 
presented] as to build up in the young a high moral 
purpose. In all that she did this was a central 
thought. 



Mrs. Mary Hemenway 83 

In her mind, character was fundamental, attain- 
ment was secondary. She believed that healthy 
bodies, well fed and comfortably clothed, were more 
susceptible to moral influences, and less likely to 
meet the snares and pitfalls of life that immorahty 
and vice prepare on every hand. 

She had rare discernment and insight in selecting 
assistants to carry out the work that she wished to 
accomplish ; and, when once selected, she gave them 
her entire confidence and support. 

She possessed that true greatness which does not 
desire to know the minute details by which results 
are accomplished. Given the results, she was sat- 
isfied. 

These qualities made it a pleasure to work with 
her and for her, and produced in all those associ- 
ated with her the same enthusiasm and fidelity that 
were so conspicuous in herself. Her assistants were 
made to feel that they were not employees, but part- 
ners. 

At the outset she recognized that the true method 
to improve the condition of society is to act on the 
child before habits and tastes are fixed in grooves 
from which it is diflflcult and almost impossible to 



84 Memorial Service 

move them. She believed in prevention rather than 
in reformation. 

When Horace Mann closed his last case in court 
before entering upon his duties as first secretary of 
the Massachusetts Board of Education, he wrote in 
his journal, ''Henceforth my clients shall be the 
next generation." 

This was the sentiment that guided and influenced 
Mrs. Hemenway. 

She was careful, however, to select such lines of 
action as, after a suitable trial, would prove to be of 
general utility, and to pursue them no longer than 
was necessary to convince the public of this, and 
thus secure their general adoption. 

She looked upon the system of public education 
as it was a quarter of a century ago, and said, " It 
deals chiefly with the intellectual and moral nature." 
**Is it not possible to add to it subjects that will in 
no wise abate or abridge the results now accom- 
plished, but rather will re-enforce them by reaching 
the intellect and the soul through that temple of 
God, the human body .? " 

" Is it not possible that public education should in- 
clude such exercises as will give to the next and to 



Mrs. Mary Hemenway 85 

subsequent generations better bodies, that shall be 
better fed and better clothed, and thus help to cre- 
ate better conditions for the indwelling of good char- 
acter and the building up of better homes ? " 

A good, healthy body, a lofty ideal of character, 
and true home life were the educational ideals of 
Mrs. Hemenway. 

On these lines she thought and labored. The 
results, remarkable and beneficial as they are, are 
not more so than were the mind and life of her who 
planned them, and carried them forward to a suc- 
cessful issue. 

She chose Boston as the principal field of her 
work, because it was her home, because she believed 
that, planted here, the seed-corn of new ideas would 
spread wider and faster than from any other spot, 
and because she found among the masters of Bos- 
ton's public schools such hospitality and support as 
were essential to the perfect trial of her plans. 

But not for what she did in the public schools 
of Boston, alone, are hands now outstretched to 
bless her memory. 

She made possible the work of the South End In- 
dustrial School, one of the many monuments to the 



86 Memorial Service 

philanthropic genius of the Rev. Dr. Hale, from 
whose printing presses come our programmes to-day. 

Thousands of black men and women in the South 
thank God for the blessings of education bestowed 
by her in schools that she maintained ; and on West- 
ern plains or mountain slopes the voices of red men 
tell with gratitude, how time and again, she aided 
the Hampton School in its time of dire necessity. 

She wisely preferred to use the means at her dis- 
posal during her own life. She did not endow great 
institutions. No college bears her honored name; 
but all over this land, in humble homes, in the pub- 
lic schools, in great institutions of learning where 
the departments of education that she created have 
become a part of a liberal education, her name is 
to-day honored ; and her memory as a great public 
benefactor will be held sacred forever. 

But dearer to our memory than great and noble 
deeds is her beautiful, symmetrical character, which 
in honor preferred others, and put a worthy cause 
above all personal considerations. 

To us whose high privilege it is also to work for 
the next generation, such a character and such an 
example are far above the power of words. 



Mrs. Mary Hemenway 87 

They reveal to us anew the possibilities and op- 
portunities of our human nature, and call upon us to 
renew our fidehty and devotion to the work remain- 
ing for us to do. 

Thus does she whom Death has taken 

" Join the choir invisible 
Of those immortal dead who live again 
In minds made better by their presence,— live 
In pulses stirred to generosity. 
In deeds of daring rectitude, in scorn 
For miserable aims that end in self, 
In thoughts sublime, that pierce the night like stars, 
And with their mild persistence urge man's search 
To vaster issues." 

Thus shall she 

" Be to other souls 
The cup of strength, 
Enkindle generous ardor, feed pure love, 
Beget the smiles that have no cruelty, 
Be the sweet presence of a good diffused. 
And in diffusion ever more intense. 
So shall she join the choir invisible, 
Whose music is the gladness of the world." 



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